Owners of wireless devices, like smartphones and electronic tablets, have limited choice about the networks on which their devices operate. Generally, this is because each mobile device is tied to a particular licensed-spectrum cellular service provider. Presently, it is possible for a cellular phone user to alternate between a connection with a licensed-spectrum cellular service provider (“cellular network”) and an unlicensed-spectrum wireless network, like a wireless local area network (“WLAN”; e.g., products based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, “WiFi”).
In certain situations, a mobile device might be able to choose between connecting to a single, designated cellular network and a WiFi network to which the device has user permissions. For example, a smartphone might connect to a cellular network while the user is driving to work, and then the device might connect to the user's office-provided WiFi once the user arrives at work. It may be possible for some devices to select between a variety of WiFi networks for which the user must pay an agreed-upon price. Typically, the situations when a user has a choice of WiFi networks arise for captive or semi-captive users, such as users at an airport, train station, hotel, and the like. Most often, competition for the user's access occurs within a single wireless access technology, like WiFi, and users typically pay a flat fee for access (e.g., a flat fee for a day of use) that may not reflect current market conditions or resources required to connect to a given wireless access point.
Competition among wireless communications service providers currently may be limited to different WiFi networks and a user's initial choice of cellular service provider. A determination of which cellular service provider to connect to may not be made in real time with a user's dynamic data requirement; it may be limited to a user's decision of which phone or SIM card to purchase. The fees a user pays for access to a particular network may not reflect a competitive market environment, which may be a result of a limited number of providers that are capable of competing for a user's access at a particular time.